Polymer-containing lasers attract significant attention because of the broad tailorability and potential processing advantages of polymers. A major reason for the widespread interest in lasers that comprise polymeric gain media and/or polymeric resonators is the relative processing ease of polymeric materials vis a vis inorganic semiconductors. The possibility to fabricate all-polymer lasers through plastic fabrication processes is particularly attractive. However, because polymer resonators involve periodic microstuctures, the vast majority of organic lasers reported in the literature require comparably complex fabrication processes, such as, for example, spin-coating, molding and embossing techniques.
Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers have potential applications in optical communication systems, optical data storage, information display, sensors, optical interconnects of electronic circuits, among others. There is considerable activity in developing such lasers for these applications. Some applications such as optical data storage are already multibillion dollar businesses that could benefit from the low-cost manufacturing method.